A Vital Difference
by The Contradictionary Man
Summary: We know the story. With Their loss on Char the UED fleet is forced to retreat. Their commanding officer is killed by his own hand and the disorganized fleet is soon overwhelmed by the Zerg. Now what if a single, vital difference were to occur?


Standard Disclaimer: I own nothing, nor I am I making money off of this as far as I know.

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In the heart of cold dark space the United Earth Directorate fleet limped away from the planet Char. The mighty expeditionary fleet had been dealt a critical blow at the hands of the Queen of Blades.

The UED's final attempt to kill Kerrigan failed miserably, even with a silent alliance with The Dominion and the Protoss, they were no match for the insect-like Zerg.

'Emperor' Mengsk's fleet was the first to retreat. When the going got tough they turned tail and ran all the way back to Korhal.

Then the Alien Protoss, although they fought valiantly it was to be admitted, were eventually forced to retreat.

Then it was just them, the UED. Their Battle Cruisers opened fire with torrents of laser fire upon the Zerg. Frigates fired salvo after salvo of missiles, blanketing the sky with fire and shrapnel. Marines filled the air with clouds of depleted uranium spikes. Their advanced Siege Tanks turned the field of battle into a no man's land. Lines of bunkers were built, made of the best Neosteel money could buy. Even the last of their diminishing nuclear arsenal was prepped, ready to rain fire. They marshaled out everything they had left in one final defiant stand, and were defeated all the same. Tactics, strategy, sheer fire power, nothing could have stopped the unending onslaught. Their fortifications were consumed by flames. Men and metal was ripped apart by teeth and claws. Even their mighty capital ships broke like toys in the face of the Swarm.

Now the Zerg were in pursuit. All hope was lost.

Ever since the defeat at the hands of the Queen of Blades Admiral DuGalle locked himself away in his office, turning away anyone who tried to seek an audience with him. Classical music blared from his personal office's sound system as he puffed on a quality Earth cigar. The computer displayed a letter to his wife, a letter she more then likely would never receive.

"Dearest Helena, by now the news of our defeat has reached the Earth. The creatures we were sent here to tame are untamable, and the colonies we were sent to reclaim have proven to be stronger that we anticipated. Whatever you may hear about what has happened out here, know this: Alexei did not die a hero. I killed him—my pride killed him. And now my pride has consumed me as well. You will never see me again, Helena. Tell our children that I love them, and that their father died in defense of their future. Au revoir."

Finishing he snubbed out his cigar into an ornate ashtray. A frown started to form on his old and weathered face. He had made many mistakes in the campaign. He could never rectify any of them, but there was still one final act of penance he could do.

In one swift motion he grabbed his service pistol from his oak desk, pointed it to the side of his head, and-

He was abruptly tackled to the ground in his chair. His gun flew out of his hands and fired pricing through his record player, bathing the room in total silence.

His eyes shot open and stared at the person who tacked him. Captain Henry Morgan, if he remembered right, was on top of him. He was a fairly young officer, just into his twenties. His officer's cap was off showing his short cropped brown hair with matching brown eyes.

It was apparent to DuGalle that he himself was so lost in thought earlier that he did not notice Morgan break into his office.

"Captain," DuGalle growled as he forced Henry off of him. "I hope you have a good explanation for this."

Morgan just dusted off his pristine black officer's uniform and waited for the perturbed Admiral to reseat himself at his desk. Gerard started eyeing his gun on his office's steel floor before the captain's voice made him snap into attention.

"Sir, I found a way out of this mess," He said with a mild confidence about him.

The Admiral laughed dejectedly at this before weakly smiling

"You and I both know that's impossible. We do not have the firepower to beat our pursuers, nor do we have the ability to survive any type of retreat back to earth," his eyes were now boring into Morgan's. "We are done for."

"So we'll make a shorter jump," Captain Morgan said defiantly. "I already had our remaining medics and technicians clear the fleet of any remaining parasites, the Zerg have no idea what we are up to." The captain then pressed a button on the Admiral's desk, bringing up on the side a small holographic star chart of the Korpulu Sector. The captain pointed to a small planet highlighted in red.

"Here," he continued. "I did a little research, there appears to be a small planet just within our warp range. Not only is it fairly defensible, but it's just so far out of the way that we'll have time to resupply and return to earth." Captain Morgan began to smile, "If we survive maybe we can return with reinforcements."

"Then go do that," Gerard said cutting Henry off. "I am in no condition to make orders," A sudden vision of Alexei passed through his vision. He took another long look at his gun laying on the floor.

"Sir, with all due respect you have a responsibility to your men." Morgan's smile dropped and his voice was rife with anger. "Half them are scared out of their minds, another quarter are on the verge of suicide and the other part probably already-!"

"Captain, who is the Admiral of this fleet?" DuGalle asked calmly.

Henery sputtered for a second before responding, "You are, Sir."

DuGalle nodded, "Who was the one who had planned the initial invasion of the sector?"

"You, Sir."

"Who was the one who planned the defenses of Korhal?"

Henery protested, "You Sir, but I just don't see-"

"Who was the one who personally lead the defense of Char?"

"You Sir, but again I just can-"

"Who was the one that ordered the emitter destroyed, even though his most trusted man said otherwise?"

"You, bu-"

"Who. Who was the one who killed Alexi Stukov?"

"…It was not you and you know-"

DuGalle burst out of his chair coming face to face with the Captain. "That is where you are wrong. I was the one who did not listen to him. I was the one too prideful to trust him. I was the one who listened to Duran's lies. I was the one who ordered the men down there. **I** was the one that killed him!"

The now red-faced DuGalle seemed to deflate, sinking again into his chair. He stared at the ground, lacking the strength to look up at the captain. "I have failed you, I have failed the men, I have failed my friend Alexi, and I have failed the Earth herself." He paused, "I am unfit to command."

A minute passed as noting happened. The captain stood, unmoving. He was unsure as how to react to the emotion being displayed by his superior.

Slowly, the Admiral raised his head; a sudden determination could be seen on his face. "…but you can."

Captain Morgan cocked an eyebrow, "Sir?"

DuGalle began to furiously type away at the computer in front of him and spoke quickly. "You have lead several operations on the ground for me, yes?"

The captain gave a quick affirmation, unsure what the older Admiral wanted.

DuGalle nodded to himself, "If I remember right you were first in your class and a fairly good officer in the field too." He kept typing, "From what I can assume you needed me to give the order to follow your plan because no one else wanted to listen to you."

Captain Morgan stuttered for a moment before he settled on nodding at DuGalle's question.

The Admiral, now done with what he was doing swiveled in his chair facing Morgan, a small smile barely visible on his lips. "Well now, Vice Admiral Morgan, I do hope that your new field promotion can help you get the other captains in line."

Surprise was easily visible on the newly promoted man's face. "Sir?"

DuGalle's hands were clasped, head lowered. "I am unfit to give commands. I have failed to listen to my officers, and my orders have cost us dearly." He glanced at his gun, "…And soon I will make sure I will not make the same mistakes again." His eyes traveled back to the now Vice Admiral, a certain confidence returning to him. "As my last act as your commanding officer I instruct you to succeed where I have failed. This is my final order."

The newly minted Vice Admiral nodded and quickly gave a salute to his superior before rushing out of the office. The door had automatically closing behind him.

The Admiral eyed the gun again, but turned his head to the star chart still floating on his desk. Out of sheer curiosity he tapped the glowing red planet that was on the map. Just a moment later the planet enlarged, revealing a lush garden world and a brief summary was displayed off to the side. He just began to read and he could not help but to chuckle at the name.

"Haven." Maybe, just maybe there was still some hope left after all.

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